Men’s Soccer Travels to #11 St. John’s for Second Round NCAA Tournament Game

Nov 20, 2011

Queens, NY- The Brown University men's soccer team will take on the ninth-seeded St. John's Red Storm at 5 p.m. on Sunday evening at Belson Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bears are 11-4-3 overall, and the #11 ranked Red Storm are 14-6-2.

Fans who are unable to attend the game at Belson Stadium can watch free live video courtesy of StormTracker, and live stats will be provided via GameTracker. Also, your very own play-by-play announcer Mike Rubin will be calling the action for Brown Internet Radio.

The Bears received an At-Large bid in the NCAA Tournament and made their 26th appearance in the 'Big Dance' on Thursday night when they defeated #25 Fairfield 3-2 on Stevenson Field in a first round game.

Brown turned a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 victory in a matter of 11 minutes against the Stags. Nearing the 80th minute of play, Sean Rosa (Montreal, Quebec) knocked one in to make it one-goal game, and just 30 seconds later Austin Mandel (Tarzana CA) evened the score at 2-2. Then, in the 85th minute Aidan Leonard scored his first collegiate goal, the game-winner, to advance the Bears into the second round of the NCAA tournament and match up with St. John's for the second time this season.

Popolizio, who has started in 15 of 18 games for the Bears, leads the offense with 19 points on the year with eight goals and three assists. Rosa is next with 14 points on five goals and four assists, while Mandel has seven points on three goals and an assist.

Leading the defense is junior goalkeeper Sam Kernan-Schloss (Arlington, VA), who has allowed just nine goals for a 0.65 goals against average. He has 43 saves on the year and has earned eight shutouts.

After earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament by winning its conference-record ninth BIG EAST Tournament crown, the St. John's men's soccer team has been awarded the No. 9 national seed in the 48-team field. . The Red Storm, which earned a national seed for the eighth time, is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history.

St. John's strung together four-consecutive victories to collect its ninth BIG EAST Tournament title. After a 2-1 victory against Georgetown in the First Round, the Red Storm defeated then-No. 23 West Virginia, 2-0, in the Quarterfinals before a 2-0 Semifinal triumph against Villanova. St. John's then notched its third-consecutive shutout in a 1-0 win against then-No. 3 Connecticut in the Finals.

Leading the Red Storm attack is BIG EAST Most Outstanding Offensive Performer, Jack Bennett. He has combined for 18 points on six goals and six assists, followed by Walter Hines with 13 points on six goals and one assist.

In goal, Rafael Diaz has started in 15 games and has a 9-4-1 record. He has allowed 15 goals for a 1.03 goals against average and has 40 saves for a .727 save percentage. Also seeing some time in net is Alex Naples, who is 4-2-1 on the year. He has started in seven games and has allowed three goals and has 18 saves.

The Bears and Red Storm are meeting for the eighth time on Sunday, as St. John's leads the all-time series 4-1-2. However, St. John's is 0-0-2 while at Belson Stadium, which includes a 0-0 double overtime tie earlier this season on October 4th. In NCAA Tournament action, St. John's is 2-0-0 against Brown, including wins in 1997 and 1998.